So, I made a Kimono with no pattern whatsoever. It was an interesting experience. But the best advice I've ever gotten is measure twice and cut once. The good thing is Kimonos aren't really fitted, they are only tied on by a sash. But then I decided to make a fitted dress in which I used a stretchy sort of t-shirt material to make, thinking that would make fitting the dress on my body easier but that wasn't quite the right idea since the zipper doesn't quite lay flat due to the material. But here are my looks with my designs: lookbook.nu/look/4186742-Geishalookbook.nu/look/3998690-Made-with-Love

I guess I'm pretty proud of myself for having designed and sewed my Halloween costume from scratch this year. I took the inspiration from a cocktail dress pattern, and turned it into a "hot pepper" outfit. The green collar portion and hat (the stem of the pepper) were all done freehand. I sketched things out in chalk on the fabric and then just proceeded in a way that seemed to make the most sense.

The green is a separate piece from the red though. I wanted the dress to be wearable stand-alone and not necessarily as a costume. (Probably not by me though, as I'm a guy, and I gotta admit -- I don't have the courage to go out wearing a dress in public). :-)